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- Public Domain
Animated character "Tommy Telephone" produces a telephone by assembling 433 separate parts.
Shotlist
Tommy Telephone materializes out of a telephone company advertisement to produce a telephone by magic. He puts paper slips marked with names of raw materials into a hooper and grinds out 433 telephone parts.
Ken Smith sez: Did you know that a telephone (ca. 1947) has 433 parts? The frustrated on-screen narrator of this film must convey that fact to the audience, but he can't figure out how to do it until he's helped by an animated cartoon character named "Tommy Telephone" (the AT&T advertising spokescreature at that time). This nuttiness apparently wasn't enough for Jam Handy, so the entire second half of this film is devoted to a single-frame animation extravaganza of a telephone -- its parts anthropomorphised -- assembling itself to marching music! Fun!
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Reviews
Reviewer:
Dodsworth the Cat
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
March 12, 2023
Subject: The Cadium's Connected to the Nickel
Subject: The Cadium's Connected to the Nickel
The highlight of this short is an engaging stop-motion sequence of a telephone building itself. Why is it doing that? I'm not certain.
There's a bit of combination live action/animation featuring a cartoon character that's voiced by someone off-mike (he has an Ezra Stone-as-Henry Aldrich quality). The interaction with the live action ad guy is a bit hokey but the technical quality is good.
There's a bit of combination live action/animation featuring a cartoon character that's voiced by someone off-mike (he has an Ezra Stone-as-Henry Aldrich quality). The interaction with the live action ad guy is a bit hokey but the technical quality is good.
Reviewer:
JSBejma
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October 16, 2019
Subject: Leave It To Jam Handy!
Another stellar production from Jam Handy, ruly the 20th century's best maker of advertising and other "ephemeral" films involving such things as utility development, sales techniques, innovative product descriptions, etc. Jam Handy was not in New York City, either. It was on East Grand Blvd in the New Center in the middle of (now totally defunct) Detroit!, two blocks east of GM headquarters (in the Fisher Building).
A delightful film and you'll find many more goodies from Jam Handy on this site.
If you don't remember phones like this, sorry, you were born too late.
Subject: Leave It To Jam Handy!
Another stellar production from Jam Handy, ruly the 20th century's best maker of advertising and other "ephemeral" films involving such things as utility development, sales techniques, innovative product descriptions, etc. Jam Handy was not in New York City, either. It was on East Grand Blvd in the New Center in the middle of (now totally defunct) Detroit!, two blocks east of GM headquarters (in the Fisher Building).
A delightful film and you'll find many more goodies from Jam Handy on this site.
If you don't remember phones like this, sorry, you were born too late.
Reviewer:
GE_Pretzel
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favoritefavoritefavoritefavoritefavorite -
January 11, 2006
Subject: Delightful 1940's stop motion animation
Subject: Delightful 1940's stop motion animation
Highly reminiscent of A Case of Spring Fever in its use of a pint-sized animated character who suddenly materializes before a middle-aged man's eyes, Just Imagine introduces viewers to Tommy Telephone, a plucky fellow who assembles a rotary phone through the use of an enigmatic crank powered machine. The movement of the telephone components synchronize extremely well with the wonderful music.
Reviewer:
Steve Nordby
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November 26, 2003
Subject: 433 parts
Subject: 433 parts
Animated figure jumps from telephone company print ad to show how a telephone is put together. The telephone then assembles itself to music under the command of little ringing bells. Oddly entertaining and obviously not just thrown together as the motion of the parts is well timed to the music.
Reviewer:
Spuzz
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September 14, 2003
Subject: I Don't know his name, but his face rings a bell!
Subject: I Don't know his name, but his face rings a bell!
A pretty amazing stop motion film featuring a rather funny looking narrator, and Tommy Telephone, who demonstrates in front of our very eyes, what parts are used to make a telephone. I was very surprised and quite delighted at this magical cartoon, bopping along with the music to the final conclusion, Very nice. A MUST SEE on this site!
Reviewer:
RedAliCat
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May 26, 2003
Subject: Ring, ring--it's for you!
Subject: Ring, ring--it's for you!
Well, I'm guessing this quasi-educational film was intended to be shown in school. All you really get is several names of what materials are used in phones (leather?) and repetition of the "433 parts" bit. The assembly is interesting, but it would have been helpful to understand what some of the pieces were and how they work together. Cute.
Reviewer:
Wilford B. Wolf
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March 30, 2003
Subject: Bizarre little film
Subject: Bizarre little film
Sometimes films just have this "what the hell?" quality to them. This is one of them. Appears that Bell Telephone had a campaign promoting the fact that telephones are made from 433 parts and made from a wide variety of materials. Why? Perhaps it was postwar material shortages. Who knows. The upshot is this film was made to be tied with that campaign.
The stop motion photography showing the various pieces of a period phone being reassembled is well done and fascinating to watch, but one is never sure what the point is. There is an abstract quality to the whole exercise.
The stop motion photography showing the various pieces of a period phone being reassembled is well done and fascinating to watch, but one is never sure what the point is. There is an abstract quality to the whole exercise.
